VAR: Has it improved football or has made it worse ?*

[Oluwa-btc]

The history of VAR

Football’s first real brush with technology began at the 2014 World Cup, when goalline-technology was implemented into some of Europe’s biggest leagues. It came four years after the controversy over Frank Lampard's strike for England against Germany being missed by the officials: the goal was not given despite it clearly crossing the line.

Frank Lampard's disallowed World Cup goal was a pivotal moment in the future of technology in footballGero Breloer/AP2010
VAR was used in a major tournament for the first time in 2017 at the FIFA Confederations Cup. In the same year, the Bundesliga and Serie A became the first of the world's major leagues to take the plunge with La Liga and Ligue 1 following suit a year later. The Premier League bowed down to the inevitable and implemented VAR in 2019.

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VAR. Like it or loathe it, it appears to be here to stay. But has it actually made football better or has it added another unnecessary layer of complication to the beautiful game?

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[Rruchi man]

But has it actually made football better or has it added another unnecessary layer of complication to the beautiful game?

The game was becoming more complicated, VAR's introduction was much needed to assist in making and clarifying difficult important and controversial decisions in the sport. Football is still a beautiful game and we need to accept that as technology creeps in into other aspects of our lives, and other sports, the game we all love (football) will & cannot be left out. The technology will get better than it is currently and people who do not accept it now will grow into accepting it.

[Lordhermes]

I cannot say Var has improved the game or not,but I know Var is a body that has been kept to check whether a goal is a goal,or not,and I like the fact that all football players respect the decision of Var when they take a decision. So I can actually say Var has  improved the game in a kind of way.
But in some few cases,there are some possible penalties that are supposed to be awarded which are always denied,while some balls that are not penalties being awarded as penalties.They work together with the Ref,therefore it makes the work a little bit easier.

[Slow death]

the entry of VAR was the best thing that happened to football (too bad that in my country they still don't use this technology), in the past the referees were corrupted and manipulated the games very easily, they could ignore obvious fouls, to favor a certain team because it paid them, the referees did not score obvious goals and obvious penalties to favor a certain team because they received money from that team. currently with VAR the result of the games is fairer and more transparent

[bittraffic]

Just so anyone reading without idea what VAR is, it stands for Video Assistant Referee (VAR). Been watching for a  long time I have no idea as well.
There had always been a camera for every game so I'm not sure how different is the VAR from what we see on NBA or boxing where we see every action being replayed whenever a violation is called.

[Yogee]

The only real argument I've read against VAR is that it affects the flow of the game since they had to stop and double check. There are some people that say it ruins the experience of the fans who are watching but even that is a weak reasoning not to implement VAR. There are far more important benefits it brought to the game. You now see less matches decided by an officiating error.

[ralle14]

VAR. Like it or loathe it, it appears to be here to stay. But has it actually made football better or has it added another unnecessary layer of complication to the beautiful game?

It improved football for sure, as a bettor it sometimes sucks to see the refs remove a goal or card that's in the favor of the team you bet on but having the technology to quickly replay a crucial scenario frame by frame is a big help for the refs since it'll help confirm their decisions based on the provided replay. I just think it offers more upside to football in general since one bad decision can sometimes have a big impact on the game and having the chance to overturn those due to VAR means it's effective.

[Wexnident]

I'm not gonna say anything about if it's improved the process of checking or not, but it's definitely the right step towards improving the accuracy of the results of the games that football has. I think better would still remain to be seen, especially if its use has been limited to only the big tournaments so far (afaik anw). I wouldn't really mind the delay, especially if it was a point that could change the match decision. I don't think mistakes would be impossible to avoid, but it's definitely going to be an improvement compared to solely relying on the referee's on-field judgment.

[Harkorede]

It depends on the context, I believe VAR is still pretty far from what it's supposed to be, the initial idea behind it neither can we call it a finished product as such, but there have been progress, it has helped surely certain calls get made correctly and some reversal too be it cards or goals that would have looked legitimate at first glances and vice versal, however, it has taken a bit away from the fun too when there have to be checks for almost every goals and all card-worthy offenses, it takes the flow and tempo pf the game away and that could be a huge advantage for team under immense pressure they get breathing space and try to get them self together. I like the fact plays are always allowed to continue until the ball is out of play before there is a review, but there are still a lot of things to be corrected or improved on in order to make it worthy of the goal it was set out to achieve.

There had always been a camera for every game so I'm not sure how different is the VAR from what we see on NBA or boxing where we see every action being replayed whenever a violation is called.

VAR is completely different with NBA video review, even though they are set out to achieve the same purposes, NBA doesn't review every basket made or every potential goaltending and it's often gotten wrong in certain instances and review are usually made in only certain instances especially with hard (flagrant) and take fouls, and there after each team gets one decision challenging opportunity for the entire game, and after that's gone every refereeing decision are as though there isn't a VAR, you can't any call overturned for or against you if it wasn't called in the first place.

So, my opinion having said all that would be that VAR has been an improvement to football, because it's has always been an eyesore when blatant infringement go the wrong way, because they couldn't have been notice without further review.

[Zlantann]

Although VAR has to some extent reduced some human errors but I am not comfortable with it. The anxiety and fear of waiting for the outcome of VAR result can cause health issues. One have to wait with a fast beating heart for the result of the checks. Those wonderful celebrations we use to see once the center referee confirm it is a goal are usually cut short be he VAR observation. Another challenge of using VAR is the cost of running it. Most countries might not have the financial strength to use VAR in their leagues. But generally it has done more good than harm to soccer.    

[ChiBitCTy]

I’m not personally a big fan of what we call soccer here in America (though I do enjoy champions league and the Real Madrid Barcelona Classico) but I do watch a whole lot of other sports and am all for using technology to enhance the game(s) to make them more fair. It’s not going to come without it’s on complications, but if we have the tech in my opinion we should always be using it to the best of our ability.

[vennali]

Var started off on the wrong foot with a lot of ambiguous calls, especially offsides and handballs but with some improvement as we go by. VAR is now an integral part of football. Just like challenges on line call in tennis, where a player has the right to review a shot if it landed in or out(3 times per set). They could add something similar to that in football as well. Where a manager can review a certain play which might have been missed by the refs. A similar system has been placed in the NBA as well. I think people overblow into the fact that the play has to be stopped for a few mins to get the decision right. The fact that we can overturn wrong decisions or lack there of is worth the time wasted in waiting. In my opinion.

[Silberman]

But has it actually made football better or has it added another unnecessary layer of complication to the beautiful game?

The game was becoming more complicated, VAR's introduction was much needed to assist in making and clarifying difficult important and controversial decisions in the sport. Football is still a beautiful game and we need to accept that as technology creeps in into other aspects of our lives, and other sports, the game we all love (football) will & cannot be left out. The technology will get better than it is currently and people who do not accept it now will grow into accepting it.

I agree, I understand the purists that did not wanted soccer to go this route, however if that is the case then we may as well forbid the advancements on the construction of the ball used to play, the uniforms, shoes and the different ways in which the matches are transmitted around the world, so this was something bound to happen and I think it is a step on the right direction, could things be improved? Of course, but I think it was a step that must have been taken a long time ago.

[Strongkored]

The history of VAR

Football’s first real brush with technology began at the 2014 World Cup, when goalline-technology was implemented into some of Europe’s biggest leagues. It came four years after the controversy over Frank Lampard's strike for England against Germany being missed by the officials: the goal was not given despite it clearly crossing the line.

Well, I still remember this game very well, watched it on television and indeed the goal was over the line, you want to know how I felt when the goal was not awarded? I'm happy because I favor Germany  .

VAR. Like it or loathe it, it appears to be here to stay. But has it actually made football better or has it added another unnecessary layer of complication to the beautiful game?

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No technology will work perfectly, because everything is run by humans who have different views and every decision that results from VAR will have a very different response, fans of the team that benefits will be happy and vice versa, so what is expected just enjoy every match even though they are upset with VAR results.
I don't know if football is getting better because of VAR I know sometimes it's profitable but it can also hurt the team, but when reading this article at least many football fans believe that VAR can have a positive impact on football https://www.compare.bet/betting/var-survey-premier-league-fans

[GiftedMAN]

But in some few cases,there are some possible penalties that are supposed to be awarded which are always denied,while some balls that are not penalties being awarded as penalties.They work together with the Ref,therefore it makes the work a little bit easier.

You are right about this, when you see a case where what you think should be a penalty in a football match is denied, most time it is either the offense that was considered as a possible penalty to us that is watching the game was not a serious offense or the player who was fouled in the game dived to fall on the 18yard box so that a penalty can be awarded to his team. Most times the Centre referee is signaled by the VAR to check if a penalty should be awarded in such cases or not but at the end of the check, the penalty may not be awarded. In some games where penalties are awarded that should not be awarded to a team could be as a mistake by the VAR or the offense that was committed by a particular player was against the FIFA rules. The VAR work with the Ref but they have more power to award a penalty even when the Ref tries to overlook it.

[Don Pedro Dinero]

Var started off on the wrong foot with a lot of ambiguous calls, especially offsides and handballs but with some improvement as we go by. VAR is now an integral part of football.

As another comment says:

No technology will work perfectly <...>

What it has done, despite its beginnings, is to minimise mistakes. So in answer to the OP's question, I think it has improved football by taking pressure off the referee on the pitch, who when there was no VAR was the focus of all the anger in the stands. There is still anger, but it has been diluted a bit by the VAR.

[hashrateproducts]

I cannot say Var has improved the game or not,but I know Var is a body that has been kept to check whether a goal is a goal,or not,and I like the fact that all football players respect the decision of Var when they take a decision. So I can actually say Var has  improved the game in a kind of way.
But in some few cases,there are some possible penalties that are supposed to be awarded which are always denied,while some balls that are not penalties being awarded as penalties.They work together with the Ref,therefore it makes the work a little bit easier.

VAR made football easier for the referee, that's true but makes it difficult for players on the pitch, checking possible offfside and penalties. Players sometimes complain about the situation of penalties but the opportunity side looks happy about the penalty awarded. VAR would be use in the Qater World cup and it will be fully active in games. As time goes on, football also improved in their technologies and VAR have the final say. But some believe is one kind of cheat in games but I see it as a new way to detects penalty, offside, fouls. All these are highly noticed when VAR is present in games.

[traderethereum]

Why do I smell a fixed match when I see a control room operated by their referees and judge whether the goal is clear or it is not clear and I think it gives a big chance for the referees to say it is a goal and it is not a goal.
The referees who are in the control room are not watching live the match but I do not know if their technology is very good enough to get every view on every corner side of the field.
If that so, I think they can see what is going on in the match and can give their opinion related to the goal.
But hopefully, the referees are clean from other things that can make the match looks controlled by them.

[rahmad2nd]

Controversy in the world of football will always adorn the drama of every football match, like it or not.
related to today's cutting-edge technological innovations, widely used in the sports field.
VAR, is a set of technologies that can help referees in scoring more highly objective, that's how we read it from various news media sources. 

in the records related to the VAR controversy of various matches such as the one you mentioned, Frank lampard's goal, Hudson-odoi handball (chelsea vs manchester united) patrick bamford's goal disallowed (leeds united vs crytal palace) alexandre lacazette's goal disallowed (arsenal vs leicer city ) and many more.

I think this is only a small part of the controversy drama that exists and does not affect every game involving VAR. there are those who benefit and there are those who are harmed from the controversy, I think overall it will not change the rhythm of the game let alone reduce the beautiful game in football.

[fiulpro]

The fact is : " It can work both ways "
 Certain referees can actually be -controlled- or -biased- which means that before VAR the decision that they made was considered Final. There are certain historical matches where we have seen things like that happening as well. At the end of the day what we have to do is to understand that if the VAR is used correctly it provides a safeguarding system against fixed matches as well, but if it's not used in a proper way then it does not only increases the probability of someone buying those VAR's out but it also makes it completely irrelevant and time consuming.